The Edwin F. Bailey Scholarship Award is presented annually to a rising sophomore Astronomy & Astrophysics major who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement in their first year in the major. The award is named for dedicated amateur astronomer Edwin F. Bailey (1907-1986) - telescope builder, astronomy educator, and close friend of Department founder Fr. Edward Jenkins.
A Philadelphia native, Edwin F. Bailey turned a boyhood love of the nighttime sky into a lifetime of astronomical service and achievement. He was a self-taught lens grinder and telescope builder, and, in 1936, was one of the founding members of the Franklin Institute’s Amateur Telescope Makers section. In 1937 he began a 37- year employment at the Franklin Institute and, in 1958, became the Assistant Director of its Department of Astronomy. Bailey was also a long time member of the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society. The Bailey Scholarship Award was established by Bailey’s widow, Eleanor Vadala Bailey, in recognition of his deep ties to Villanova’s astronomy program. He helped instruct close friend Fr. Edward Jenkins in the art of lens grinding and telescope making, and the two constructed Villanova’s first telescope, mounted in the Tolentine Hall observatory.
The current cash value of the Bailey Scholarship Award is approximately $10,000. Contributions to the Bailey fund are still being accepted. For additional information, please contact the Departmental Office at 610-519-4820.
Photo Credit: Rittenhouse Astronomical Society
Recipients of the Bailey Scholarship Award:
1997 Colleen K. Henry; Michael E. Stump
1998 Derek R. Caputo; Benjamin T. Conroy; John J. Bochanski, Jr.
1999 Jeffrey C. Tracey; Joel Urban
2000 Jolleen K. Miller; Kelly J. Kolb
2001 Ryan T. Hamilton
2002 Sarah L. Lakotas; John T. Marcy; Adric R. Reidel
2003 Sean M. Foran
2004 Jennifer M. Carlton; Nicholas P. Hollom; Robert T. Zellem
2006 Heather Stewart; Stephen Perno
2007 Ian Bozant
2008 Ronald-Louis Ballouz
2009 Janine A. Myszka
2010 Allyn J. Durbin
2011 Anna C. Marion; Cole C. Johnston
2012 William E. Watson; Scott L. Michener
2013 John J. Ruby, IV
2014 Eric N.Aldieri; Valerie E. Bernstein; Griffin B. Werner
2015 Elizabeth A. Johnson
2016 Joseph M. Michail; Keri A. Salanik
2017 Augustus Most
2018 Tyler R. Kline
2019 Grace E. Chiodo; Thinh H. Nguyen